German airline and Swedish car manufacturer recognized for SAM project

The Lufthansa Group and Volvo Car Group have both been recognized for their outstanding achievements in implementing company-wide software asset and license management strategies. As part of a festive gala event, the we.CONECT group presented both companies with the renowned SAMS award for “Overall SAM Project”.

Lufthansa’s primary Software Asset Management objectives were to gain an overview and significantly improve the quality of license data in short order. The project met with a number of specific challenges: complex dependencies, inconsistencies in the data, and more than 40 different data sources. Aspera’s expertise and tools made it possible to select the most cost-effective licenses and achieve the optimal license usage within Lufthansa's diverse infrastructure.

At Volvo, the aim of the project was audit readiness. To reduce considerable audit expenses and negotiate with software manufacturers on a level playing field, a Software Asset Management system, processes, and a SAM team were established. Using high-quality data as the foundation, the project team worked with support from Aspera to carry the complex strategic project to completion. Today with the support of dedicated license managers, Volvo has continuous access to up-to-date and detailed licensing information for all major vendors. As a result, IBM has offered Volvo the opportunity to become the first Northern European customer to participate in IBM's ASP (Authorized SAM Partner) program. Volvo was also thrilled to receive a special jury prize along with first place in the “Overall SAM Project” category.

Aspera extends its heartfelt congratulations to the communications provider Vodafone which was also recognized. "We are thrilled to hear that our customers are receiving these distinctions. This reflects the exceptional implementation of complex, strategic ideas in the area of software license management," says Olaf Diehl, Director of Product Management & Marketing at Aspera GmbH.